Notice

Pfizer Inc., which ranks number two in research and development globally and across all industries, said recently that its broad and diverse pipeline of new medicines, together with an aggressive business development and licensing strategy, will drive a significant stream of new products for a wide variety of therapeutic areas starting in 2010.

The old saying that "youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re only as old as you feel" turns out to have some scientific merit. As researchers probe the secrets of how we age, they continue to find ways in which our biological age influences our health and quality of life more than our chronological age. The good news is that while you canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t turn back the calendar, you can do something to affect your biological age Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the tolls the years take on your body and your health. To put it another way, your lifespan Ã¢â‚¬â€œ how many years you live Ã¢â‚¬â€œ is important, but perhaps not as much as your health span or that period of your life when youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re functional and able to perform everyday life tasks for yourself. IsnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t that what most of us want more of in our lives Ã¢â‚¬â€œ not merely years but good, independent, enjoyable years?

Here are seven determinants of aging that you can control and are essential in extending your health span.

As if the President has not heard enough, health workers yesterday staged a protest at the Department of Health (DoH) premises to demand not only for her resignation but also for age-old requests such as increase in wages and in benefits.

We were shocked to hear recently of the sudden death of a colleague, a pulmonary specialist who was well liked by both his fellow doctors and patients. He hardly had any symptom referable to the heart, was athletic, was at the prime of his life and peak of his career. He was on the way home after making rounds a couple of days before Christmas.

Autopsy to find out the cause of death showed significant blockage of a major artery of the heart. It’s likely that he had a sudden irregularity of the heartbeat called ventricular fibrillation, causing the heart to stop. It’s so sudden that there’s no chance for him to be saved as he had saved a lot of lives in his brilliant career.

Our colleague’s case is not an isolated one. Tens of thousands of Filipinos are dying annually because of fatal complications of cardiovascular disease. A good number of them die before they can even reach the hospital. They are usually proclaimed DOA (dead on arrival) when they’re rushed to the emergency room.

MANILA, Philippines - Appearances can, indeed, be deceiving. Warts‚ more commonly known as kulugo ‚ are skin growths that usually have a rough surface and are more commonly addressed for cosmetic reasons. But more than aesthetics, addressing warts and, more importantly, the virus that causes them, becomes even more critical when they infect the genital area.

Genital warts can either appear as small bumps or groups of bumps that may be either raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large, and sometimes cauliflower-shaped. In women, they may appear on the vulva, within the vagina, on the cervix, on the anus or within the rectum. In men, they manifest on the penis, on the scrotum, around the anus, on the groin, or thigh.

Genital warts are caused by certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV). More than 40 types of HPV infect the genital area. While most infections clear on their own, persistent infections may lead to genital warts or vaginal, vulvar, and cervical cancers depending on the virus type.

“The threat of HPV infection and diseases is overly underestimated by the average Filipino. The major health concerns center more on lifestyle diseases rather than infectious ones, says HPV expert Dr. Angela Bandola of the Ob-Gyn Infectious Diseases Section of the UP-PGH.

Genital HPV affects both men and women, and is cited by US data to be the most common among sexually transmitted infections. Genital HPV may be transmitted through intercourse, or via hand-to-genital, genital-to-genital or even mere skin-to-skin contact of the genital area.

One cannot see HPV. Most people who have been infected do not know they have it or that they are passing the virus to their partners.

“It is estimated that about 300 million women in the world are infected with HPV but show no symptoms of infection. Men are also not exempted and the incidence rate in men is believed to be similar to those in women,Dr. Bandola points out.

About 32 million men and women are diagnosed with genital warts worldwide each year and more than 75 percent of people coming into contact with genital warts develop this manifestation of HPV infection.

“Aside from the cost of having to undergo multiple procedures for diagnosis and treatment, I have some patients who have strained marital relationships and constantly fear getting a recurrence or re-infection, shares Dr. Bandola. “I have also treated a number of adolescent girls with genital warts who usually complain of vulvar itchiness or lumps. More often, they would be ashamed or hesitant to consult about their condition.

Abstinence from sexual activities is the best way to avoid HPV infection. A lifetime of mutual monogamy is another way, but only if neither of the partners have had past sexual relationships. Condoms can only reduce the risk of infection, offering limited skin protection in the genital area.

Vaccination is another option that can help provide protection. The quadrivalent HPV vaccine, an HPV vaccine for both males and females, helps protect against HPV types that cause genital warts as well as cervical, vulvar, and vaginal cancers.